Airliner Crashes Near Pakistani Capital With 127 Aboard

The Associated Press quotes Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhar as saying the 737-200 went down in a farm field of a relatively unpopulated area just a few miles from the international airport in Islamabad.

Mukhar said it was unlikely that anyone had survived.

Pakistani television showed wreckage of the plane, including parts that appeared to be the engine and the wing up against a small building, AP says.

UPDATE at 11:00 a.m. EST:

Reuters cites state television as saying "all hospitals in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi had been put on high alert after the crash."

Our original post:

First reports are coming in that a Pakistani airliner has crashed near the capital, Islamabad.

Local TV in Pakistan reports that 127 were aboard the Boeing 737 belonging to Bhoja Air flight - a private airline. The flight was en route from the southern city of Karachi in poor weather conditions.

The crash occurred near the Chaklala Air Force Base and the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, according to our Islamabad correspondent, Julie McCarthy.

We will update as soon as we have more information.

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